the lower temperature eliminated the serious burn risk of overheated
solutions. ECRI increased its blanket recommendation to 130°F
because many of today's warming cabinets have independent heating
chambers, so you can heat solutions separately from blankets.
5. The longer the patient is warmed in pre-op, the
warmer she'll be in post-op.
Is a self-warming blanket — its
warming pads are activated as soon as you remove the blanket from
its packaging and expose it to air — applied in pre-op more effective
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 0 5
There are 3 very big reasons to keep your patients warm during
each phase — pre-op, periop and post-op — of surgery:
• it reduces anxiety and keeps them comfortable;
• it prevents hypothermia and any complications related to not
maintaining normothermia; and
• it may lead to fewer SSIs.
While most of us focus on the clinical benefits, don't underesti-
mate the benefits of keeping patients comfortable and calm. As
surgery facility leaders and care providers, we need to do every-
thing possible to increase patient satisfaction.
When a patient comes in for an arthroscopy at 6:30 a.m.,
chances are he is already anxious. Making that person disrobe in
a cold pre-op room with nothing but a thin gown and light blanket
for protection only increases that anxiety and can contribute to
what the patient ultimately views as an unpleasant experience —
something no facility wants. Prewarming can mitigate this anxiety
and bolster comfort and satisfaction. Even without all the other
benefits, I see this alone as reason to make it a standard protocol.
— Paul Austin, CRNA, PhD
Don't Underestimate the Role of Patient Satisfaction
A WARM HUG
